the Shofar from Rabbi Novak A

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1 the Shofar 26 Adar II 26 Nisan II 5771/April 2011 Inside this issue: From the Rabbi 1 2nd Night Seder 1 Quilt Raffle 1 Annual Meeting 2 Mazel Tov 2 President s Column 3 Religious School 3 Tikkun Olam 4 Yom ha Shoah 4 Booknotes 5 Barefoot Contessa 5 Ma aser Sheni 6 Calendar 7 Battenkill Chorale Find us on 8 Talking to God from Rabbi Novak A nyone who has been to ICM knows that we speak with many voices and represent many different ways of being Jewish. This is reflected on the bookshelves when you enter the sanctuary. There youʹll find Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Reform prayer books (and a few Orthodox ones sprinkled in), as well as copies of the Torah/Haftarah commentaries in Reform, Womenʹs, Conservative, and Orthodox translations. Pluralism is one of our shulʹs hallmarks. Yet beyond what is in the books on our shelves, there is another kind of prayer the kind of prayer that is more spontaneous than those in prayer books. Those kinds of prayers have been written by Rabbi Naomi Levy in a wonderful book entitled Talking to God; Personal Prayer for Times of Joy, Sadness, Struggle and Celebration. It is an important book for all of us. When I have used this book there has always been a positive response. Personal prayers are a longstanding part of Jewish tradition, although many Jews do not realize that we have full right and permission to use them. Our prayers do not have to be from our canon; they can come from deep within us, reflecting our personal experiences, our hopes and aspirations, our hurts and suffering, and marking those liminal times when there are status changes in our lives. Rabbi Levyʹs book has daily prayers, prayers for love and marriage, pregnancy and childbirth, prayers for parents, for healing, work prayers, prayers for comfort and strength in difficult times, prayers for special occasions, prayers for the blessings of age, prayers for death and mourning, prayers for living up to the best in our souls, and prayers for our country and our world. It is my hope that all who encounter this book come away with new words to animate their personal prayers, drawing us closer together, and bringing us closer to the One who hears all prayer. Second Night Seder O n Tuesday, April 19, at 6:00 pm, ICM will host its traditional Second Night Passover Seder for members, families, and friends. The Seder will be led by Rabbi Novak and all are invited to join him. As she has for the past several years, Jodi Stark will be coordinating this event. To enable Jodi to plan the Seder, please contact her directly with the number of people attending and she will let you know what dishes are needed for the Seder. Jodi can be reached at Adults $18, children under 13 years of age may attend at no charge. Pesach Quilt Raffle in this beautiful handcrafted Pesach W quilt on display in our lobby. Tickets are on sale in our office for $25 each or 5 for $100. The winner will be drawn at random at our Second Night Seder on April 19; you do not need to be present to win. See the quilt in color on our website, Call or stop by the office to buy your tickets now!

2 Page 2 srael Congregation has about 200 I member families of diverse Jewish backgrounds, both full time and part time residents of southern Vermont. We provide weekly Shabbat and holiday services, a religious school, adult education, life cycle events, and cultural and social programming in a warm and welcoming environment. An integral part of Jewish life in the Northshire for almost 90 years, Israel Congregation has been at its current location on Rte 7A, 1.2 miles north of Rte 11/30, since Our building is ADA accessible. David Novak, Rabbi Michael Cohen, Rabbi Emeritus Karen Dreiblatt, Administrator Board of Directors John Sobel, President Cathy Kimmel, Vice President Arnold Katz, Vice President Marlene Skulnik, Treasurer Merrily Lewis, Corresponding Secretary Mark Aronowitz, Recording Secretary Morty Bunis, Immediate Past President Directors: Lynne Abcug, Mindy Bloom, Sandy Castelbaum, Ed Glazer, David Heisler, Georgette Levis, Micki Lisman, Bev Rokes, David Sischy, Rob Zeif Shofar Editorial Board: Doris Bass, Marisa Eisemann, Karen Dreiblatt, Bev Rokes, Laurie Sullivan, Cheryl Ullman Kabbalat Shabbat Service: 6:30 pm, Friday (followed by Congregational Dinner) Shabbat Service: 9:30 am, Saturday Religious School: 3:50 pm to 6:00 pm, Thursday Office Hours: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday Thursday 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, Friday Telephone: office@icmvt.org Website: P.O. Box 1050 Manchester Ctr. VT Annual Meeting Mazel Tov 26 Adar II 26 Nisan II 5771/April 2011 M ark your calendars now and plan on attending our Annual Meeting on Sunday, May 15, at 10:00 am. At the Annual Meeting we will be voting on a new slate for the Board of Directors and our budget. You will hear reports from the rabbi and committee chairs. Please join us. Light refreshments will be served. Betsy & Jim Chase on their daughter Joanie receiving ordination as a rabbi in Broomfield, CO, by ALEPH:Alliance for Jewish Renewal Joanne & Matthew Beck on the engagement of their daughter Sarah to Devin Murphy; a Fall 2012 wedding is planned Shirah Hill Cohen on her induction as a member of the Manchester LEO s Club, a student subsection of the Lions Organization, and on her role in starting a debate team at Burr & Burton Academy Ilse Fuchs on the birth of her great granddaughter Samantha Rose, born on Ilse s 95th birthday, March 18, 2011 Share your naches. Send your news to Karen at office@icmvt.org.

3 26 Adar II 26 Nisan II 5771/April 2011 President s Column: Choosing to Welcome & Share I srael Congregation is a labor of love shared by many. We are generous with our time and our financial resources. We strive to welcome all who enter our doors in order to foster traditional egalitarian Jewish worship values. Although our budget is restricted, we offer wonderful educational opportunities to both our children as well as to the adults in our community. One only has to look at the numerous social, cultural, and family programs that have been offered during this current year to appreciate all that is done to welcome each and every member of our congregation. We strive to be a community of life long, yearround, committed, and practicing Jews. We care for one another in times of illness, provide support during difficult times, and welcome all in participatory, traditional Jewish worship and learning. Hopefully, we are Religious School I n March, our religious school celebrated Purim together. We learned about the important players in the Purim Megillah, and the customs and mitzvot connected to this festive holiday. We made masks and hand puppets to play out the Purim story, which Kitah Bet (the bar/bat mitzvah preparation class) performed for Kitah Alef, who also made generous use of our homemade groggers to blot out Hamanʹs name! We also spent time getting into the Purim spirit by applying face paint and bringing in tzedakah to share with those less fortunate than ourselves. Yuval then helped us make many, many flavors of Hamentaschen we rolled and filled dough together and had a great time eating and sharing our hamentaschen. This month, we will explore the rich history and ritual of Passover together as a school. By learning that we were all once strangers in Egypt, we will learn to empathize with those in bondage, and relate to our Page 3 committed to our individual and collective spiritual paths. Our Ritual Committee is continuously examining worship issues, including the shape and format of our Shabbat services as well as the High Holy Day services. By managing the process, we strive to genuinely listen to the views and concerns of all our members, within the context of strengthening our existing religious and moral community and its values. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the numerous members of our ICM community who generously donate their time and resources to make our synagogue a very special place. Rather than thanking specific individuals, allow me to recognize all our Board members as well as all the people who serve on our various committees and just say, Thank you, for all that you ve done and will continue to do in the future to make ICM a place where people feel welcome and unconditionally share with each other. John Sobel shared history of Am Yisrael, the Jewish people. Thanks to all of you for your continued support of our school, and Chag Sameach! Rabbi Rose

4 Page 4 26 Adar II 26 Nisan II 5771/April 2011 Tikkun Olam Update T ikkun Olam is a very interesting committee and it does a lot more than review charitable organizations and make recommendations to the Board regarding which charities should receive contributions and the amount to be donated. Tikkun Olam also has various fund raising responsibilities in order to increase the amount of monies available for charitable donations. Of course, chief among these is the Annual Tag Sale. We have also sponsored the raffle at the annual Fourth of July picnic for several years. Most of the congregation knows about these particular activities. What many of you are not as familiar with is Tikkun Olam s representation on the Interfaith Council of the Northshire and its coordination of the Interfaith Council Programs here at ICM. In the last issue of the Shofar, everyone read about the upcoming Interfaith Seder to be held on April 6 at 6:00 pm at ICM. Members of Tikkun Olam are responsible for coordinating ICM s contribution to the Interfaith Seder, including getting foodstuffs bought and prepared by various members of our congregation. We ve recently added information on the upcoming Interfaith Seder to the Refrigerator Page, but so far we ve received very little in the way of responses for either attendance at the seder and for helping with the preparation. We Need You! Please call or Micki Lisman at or msloane.esq@mindspring.com and let her know you ll attend the seder and help with the preparations. Other Interfaith Council activities include Simple Suppers, Faith and Nature Camp, Neighbor to Neighbor, the Interfaith Council Storage Unit, Auto Angels, and the Christmas Holiday Project to which many of you contributed. This is the time of the year to begin thinking about Israel Congregation s annual Tag Sale. We ve already set the date of Sunday, September 11, 2011, for our annual event, and it is time to mark your calendars. This event is a key fund raising activity for Tikkun Olam and also provides a service to the community at large. In order to be successful, the Tag Sale will require the support of a small army of volunteers. For those of you who have participated in the past, you know that preparations for this event officially start the previous Sunday, which is the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, when many families are visiting. Because of the timing, it s likely that we ll be short on volunteers for the first Sunday and Monday, so we ll need more volunteers than usual to make up for it the rest of the week preceding the big sale day. Of course, Sunday, September 4, is the big drop off day for your accumulated items and the day that we begin turning Israel Congregation upside down. There ll be other drop off days following Labor Day weekend and we ll have a drop off day scheduled prior to that date. If you can, clear your calendar for the whole week and join the group at Israel Congregation as we organize, joke, and get to know each other a whole lot better. So at the very least, add Sunday, September 11 to your calendar and be prepared to either volunteer or shop till you drop. If prior years are any indication, the members of our congregation accumulate items like pack rats, including many very wonderful things, and then donate them to ICM just in time for the Annual Tag Sale. So start to clean out your closets and drawers, books, sweaters, and ski stuff and finally decide to part with some old family heirlooms and other items that have been eating up storage space in your house. See you at the Tag Sale!! Micki Lisman Marking Yom ha Shoah I CM observes Yom ha Shoah, the day memorializing our peopleʹs genocide, on Sunday, May 1. We gather at ICM at 5:30 pm for a half hour memorial service led by Rabbi Novak. Then those who wish are invited to caravan to the Rutland Jewish Center for Robert DeCormierʹs valedictory performance with Counterpoint Music to Remember: Songs from Jewish Lifeʺ at 7:00 pm. We invite you to join us in commemorating all that was lost in the Shoah. The Rutland Jewish Center will be accepting donations at the door.

5 26 Adar II 26 Nisan II 5771/April 2011 BOOKNOTES T he ICM Library has three new books that provide diverse perspectives on the Arab Israeli conflict, as well as detailed historical information. ~ Palestine Betrayed, by Professor Ephraim Karsh, takes a look at the origins of the conflict. Karsh does extensive research, which includes the use of recently declassified Soviet, Western, UN, and Israeli documents, as well as unfamiliar Arab sources. Karsh asserts that the historical decisions of the Palestinian leadership bear responsibility for the refugee problem. ~ 1948, by Benny Morris, recounts in detail the history of the 1948 war. Many of the issues that plague us today had their roots in the 1948 struggle. This book not only provides us with the military history of the war, but also focuses on the political dimensions of the war and the civilian history, giving us insight into the refugee problem. ~ One State, Two States, by Benny Morris, provides an in depth history of the goals of the Palestinian and Zionist movements, which he uses to help critically analyze the various proposed solutions to the Arab Israeli conflict, including the one he finds most reasonable, given the current state of affairs, which is a two state solution involving Jordan. These books can be found in the ICM Library and may be signed out any time the synagogue is open. The ICM Library has a wide variety of Passover books to enrich your Passover experience. Cemetery Plots Available ometimes it is hard to think about certain aspects of life, but people do look ahead and plan S for the future in many ways. ICM has its own section at Park Lawn Cemetery in Bennington, VT. The synagogue still owns a number of plots at this cemetery. If you are interested in purchasing one or more plots, please contact our synagogue administrator, Karen Dreiblatt, at or office@icmvt.org or contact our Cemetery Committee Chair, Mark Aronowitz, at or aronobird@aol.com. Have Dessert With the Barefoot Contessa Page 5 O n Wednesday May 11, at 7:00 pm, there will be a screening of an interview of Ina Garten (the ʺBarefoot Contessaʺ) by Pulitzer Prize winning author Anna Quindlen at Israel Congregation. This interview originally took place on March 23, 2011, as part of the highly respected 92 nd Street Y s lecture series in New York City. Host of the Food Networkʹs highly rated program ʺBarefoot Contessa,ʺ Ina Rosenberg Garten is known for designing recipes with an emphasis on fresh ingredients and time saving tips. She has been noted by Martha Stewart and Oprah Winfrey for her cooking excellence and home entertaining savvy. In this special interview, Americaʹs favorite hostess talks with author Anna Quindlen about her successful ventures in retail, television, and publishing, as well as her life as mother, wife, and home cook. Quindlenʹs books have appeared on fiction, nonfiction and self help best seller lists, and her columns in the New York Times and Newsweek have won journalismʹs most prestigious awards, including the Pulitzer Prize. Following the screening of the interview there will be a dessert hour hosted by ICM s Program Committee, which will feature delectable Ina Garten specialties. Don t miss this fun event... mark your calendar now! Neighbor to Neighbor On Thursday, April 14, Neighbor to Neighbor will host a fund raising dinner at the United Church of Dorset, Dorset, VT. Dinner will feature both meat and vegetarian baked ziti with homemade sauce, mixed green salad, fresh local breads, coffee, and desserts made by our volunteers. Neighbor to Neighbor will start serving at 5:30 pm. Dinner will be a freewill offering. All proceeds will benefit Neighbor to Neighbor, a program geared toward building relationships and providing services that keep our older neighbors independent and connected to the community. If you know someone who would benefit from our program or you have a few hours to assist your neighbors in need, please call

6 Page 6 Ma aser Sheni 26 Adar II 26 Nisan II 5771/April 2011 When the Temple functioned in Jerusalem, the Jewish community supported it and its priests with a system of tithes in the form of food and/or money. Today we feed our communal needs by offering financial gifts that strengthen and enhance Jewish religious and communal life in the Northshire. GENERAL FUND Laney & Larry Davis in memory of Laney s mother Bertha Levine and Eleanor Ranzal s mother Dorothy Parker Richard Trachtenberg Ina & Mark Katzman in memory of Lynne Abcug s mother Shirley Rosenberg, Frankie Oberst s mother Jeannette Kleinberg, and Inaʹs mother Etta Goldstein Norma Rosenblatt in memory of Eleanor Ranzal s mother Dorothy Parker Cathy & Saul Kimmel in memory of Shirley Rosenberg Linda & David Sischy in memory of Shirley Rosenberg Janet Steig Carol & David Buchdahl in memory of Sol Shuchman Merrily & Frank Lewis in memory of Shirley Rosenberg, Minnie Neuwirth, and David Neuwirth Barbara & Robert Friedman in memory of Shirley Rosenberg Fran & Mark Aronowitz in memory of Shirley Rosenberg Carole & Billy Gold in memory of Shirley Rosenberg Ted Friedman in memory of Irving Friedman Ruthie & Norm Ellenbogen in memory of Shirley Rosenberg Bettina & James Baum in memory of Dorothy Parker Claire & Richard Katz in memory of Norcia Katz and Esther Roseman Gail Zimmer in memory of Len Wallach and Bessie Cohen Susan & Herb Donner in honor of Emet Koffman becoming a bat mitzvah Maddie & John Sobel in memory of Jackie Borella s parents Minnie & David Neuwirth and Miriam Hyman s sister Dalia Nissenbaum Diamond Eric Zinner in memory of Albert Zinner Sara & Chuck Michelsen SHABBAT DINNER FUND Sasha Kent & Arnie Katz in memory of Lynne Abcug s mother Shirley Rosenberg Joel Rotner Karen & Michael Dreiblatt in honor of Ilse Fuch s 95th birthday, the birth of Ilse s great grandson, Raymond Lipshutz 92nd birthday, in memory of Shirley Rosenberg, Minnie & David Neuwirth, and Dalia Nissenbaum Diamond Cookie & Mac Israel Ruth & Stan Gilbert in memory of Barnet Shapiro, Irving Gilbert, and Ida Gilbert CHILDREN S EDUCATION FUND Sasha Kent & Arnie Katz in memory of Jackie Borella s mother Minnie Neuwirth Carol & Phil Goldsmith in memory of Shirley Rosenberg, Minnie Neuwirth, David Neuwirth Judith & Hank Kaplan in memory of Fay Kaplan Phyllis Gimbel & Paul Schnitman in memory of Nancy Joy Gimbel MERKADO LIBRARY FUND Janet Kleinberg & Harvey Flaxman in memory of Jackie Borella s parents Minnie & David Neuwirth and Lynne Abcug s mother Shirley Rosenberg Sara Dolsky in memory of Irwin Whitton RABBI S DISCRETIONARY FUND Sandy & Marty Castelbaum in memory of Lynne Abcug s mother Shirley Rosenberg and Miriam Hyman s sister Dalia Nissenbaum Diamond Roseann & Edwin Gordon in memory of Florence & Louis Abramson Ina & Al Rubin in memory of Estelle Cohen, Minnie Neuwirth, Shirley Rosenberg, and Dalia Diamond Helene & Len Glaser in memory of Jacob Glaser Ilse Fuchs in honor of the birth of her great grandson Jamie Franklin Otis and in memory of Karl Gradwohl (Gidron) and Avishai Gidron Lynne & Les Abcug for Shiva prayers and love MARILYN GLATT LINGLEY SCHOLARSHIP FUND Marilyn & Raymond Starker in memory of Stanley Reiter

7 26 Adar II 26 Nisan II 5771/April 2011 Page 7 Ma aser Sheni, con t. MICKI & BOB HOROWITZ CHILDREN S EDUCATION FUND Franci & Tom Carieri in memory of Minnie & David Neuwirth Micki & Bob Horowitz in honor of Emet Koffman becoming a bat mitzvah MARTHA LYON AND LYNNE ANDREEN ISRAEL FUND Lynne Andreen & Dave Lyon in honor of their grandson Abraham Lyon becoming a bar mitzvah and in memory of Minnie & David Neuwirth, Walter Lazaroff, Dalia Nissenbaum Diamond, and Martha Lyon CULTURAL AFFAIRS Carol & Phil Goldsmith in memory of Henry Cohen, Cora Goldsmith, Benjamin Goldsmith Lana & Ben Hauben *Please Note: Donations received after the 15th of the month will appear in the next edition of the Shofar. Special Thanks Jen & Lloyd Weinstein for sponsoring our Shabbat Dinner on March 5 Sandra & Mark Koffman for hosting our Shabbat Dinner on March 18 and our Purim Festival on March 19 Ellen & Raymond Lipshutz for sponsoring our Shabbat Dinner on March 25 Mindy & Allan Bloom for the beautiful flowers in the sanctuary sconces Paul Ross and Marlene Skulnik for bringing us the screening of the documentary Shoah APRIL Calendar of Events 4/ 1 6:30 pm Family Shabbat & Potluck Dinner 4/2 9:30 am Shabbat Worship, Parashat Tazria 4/5 10:30 am Adult Education: Talmud Study 6:00 pm ICM Staffs Simple Suppers at the Barrows House 4/6 6:00 pm Annual Interfaith Seder at ICM 4/7 3:50 pm Religious School 4/8 6:30 pm Friday Evening Shabbat Worship Followed by our Potluck Dinner 4/9 9:30 am Shabbat Worship, Parashat Metzora 4/12 10:30 am Adult Education: Talmud Study 4/14 No Religious School 4/15 6:30 pm Friday Evening Shabbat Worship Followed by our Potluck Dinner 4/16 9:30 am Saturday Morn. Family Shabbat Parashat Achrei Mot 4/18 1:00 pm Office Closes Early Pesach 4/19 9:30 am Pesach Worship Office Closed 6:00 pm Annual ScondNight Seder at ICM 4/20 3:50 pm Religious School 4/22 10:30 am Friday Evening Shabbat Worship and Pesadik Potluck Dinner 4/23 9:30 am Shabbat Worship, Parashat Chol HaMo ed Pesach 4/25 9:30 am 7th Day Pesach Worship Office Closed 4/26 10:30 am Adult Education: Talmud Study 4/28 3:50 pm Religious School 4/29 6:30 pm Friday Evening Shabbat Worship Followed by our Potluck Dinner 4/30 9:30 am Shabbat Worship, Parashat Kedoshim

8 Page 8 Battenkill Chorale Voices of Hope and Remembrance: Honoring the Legacy of Terezin O n May 7 at 8:00 pm and May 8 at 4:00 pm, at the Zankel Music Center at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY, the Battenkill Chorale will be performing a concert entitled Voices of Hope and Remembrance: Honoring the Legacy of Terezin. This concert features music that was written and performed at Terezin by those incarcerated there and other music written by Bernstein, Lewandowski, Janowski, Whitacre, Weill, and others. Also featured is a pre concert talk on May 8 by music historian Joshua Jacobson and a videotaped interview with 90 year old Terezin survivor Edgar Krasa. The concert also includes the Bennington Children s Chorus performing excerpts from Charles Davidson s I Never Saw Another Butterfly, with texts written by children confined at Terezin. Tickets for the concerts are $15 each and can be reserved by calling or by ing jen.braucher@gmail.com. This summer, as part of the Battenkill Chorale s choral tour to Vienna and Prague, they have been given special permission to give a memorial recital at the site of the Terezin concentration camp and will also present a concert at the Spanish Synagogue in Prague. For more information, contact Julie Turner at Sponsor a Shabbat Dinner 26 Adar II 26 Nisan II 5771/April 2011 e encourage members to support our communal Shabbat Dinner by sponsoring a dinner in W honor of a life cycle event, achievement, anniversary, birthday, or for any other simcha. The cost to sponsor a dinner is $200, which covers the food, serving, and clean up expenses regularly provided by the synagogue. Attendees are still expected to augment the meal by bringing a potluck dish. Please contact Karen in our office for more information. A Shabbat Dinner FAQ Sheet is available. CFC April Wish List I t s spring! Donations of basic cleaning products will help families get their spring cleaning done. Some needed items are dish soap, paper towels, sponges, laundry detergent, and bathroom cleansers. Monetary donations are always welcome, especially this month. For the fourteenth consecutive year, the Feinstein Foundation is offering a one million dollar grant to help fight hunger across the country. Donations made to CFC during April will help bring a portion of that grant right here to the Community Food Cupboard and the Northshire. To take up the challenge with us, please send your contributions to CFC, P.O. Box 864, Manchester Center, VT Donations of non perishable food are counted as one dollar per pound for the grant and may be left in the collection boxes at ICM, Shaws Supermarket, or the Town Hall. For more information, please call or check the website, Advertising Pays! The Tree of Life in our Social Hall is adorned with leaves that commemorate events in the lives of our congregants. To inscribe your family event or simcha, call Karen in our office at Place an ad in the Shofar and reach over 300 households in eight states. Call Karen at for our low rates!